Official Letter No. 5344/CT-CS dated July 29, 2026 of the Ministry of Finance on tax policies provides as follows:
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1. Regarding value-added tax and invoices and accounting documents:
In cases where domestic and foreign airlines are authorized by the Immigration Department (Ministry of Public Security) under a written authorization agreement to collect certain aviation security fees through ticket sales, issuance of transportation documents, and service payments, and are entitled to a collection service fee equivalent to 1.5% of the collected fees that have been transferred by the airlines to the fee-receiving account of the Immigration Department (Ministry of Public Security) to cover the costs of fee collection, reconciliation, data administration, payment and remittance of fees in accordance with Clause 3, Article 65 of Decree No. 215/2026/ND-CP, such amount shall be determined as remuneration received from a state agency and shall not be related to the sale of goods or provision of services by the business establishment, as it arises from the collection and payment-on-behalf activities performed for state agencies. Such amount shall not be included in the value-added tax calculation price and is not subject to invoice issuance.
2. Regarding corporate income tax:
The aviation security fees collected by airlines on behalf of the Immigration Department (Ministry of Public Security) and transferred to the account of the Immigration Department, provided that there are sufficient documents and supporting records evidencing that such amounts are collected on behalf of the Immigration Department and are not amounts retained or enjoyed by the airlines, shall not be determined as revenue subject to corporate income tax of the airlines.
In cases where domestic and foreign airlines conducting collection-on-behalf activities receive income from the collection of aviation security fees, such income shall be determined as revenue from the provision of services for corporate income tax purposes in accordance with Decree No. 320/2025/ND-CP and Circular No. 20/2026/TT-BTC. The declaration and payment of corporate income tax by foreign airlines shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on corporate income tax and tax administration.
3. Regarding withholding, declaration and payment on behalf of foreign contractor tax:
Regarding the mechanism for withholding, declaring and paying foreign contractor tax (corporate income tax) on behalf of foreign airlines, as well as the conditions for application of the Agreement on International Civil Air Transport and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement applicable to each foreign airline authorized by the Immigration Department (Ministry of Public Security) to collect certain aviation security fees, in order to ensure clear, specific and compliant implementation, the Tax Department requests the Immigration Department (Ministry of Public Security) to provide specific information on the types of income received by foreign airlines as a basis for applying the relevant Agreements. On that basis, the tax authority will have sufficient grounds to provide guidance on implementation.
